Aaron Gibson

[Arkady Renko]

Let's wait until camps start before we start declaring who won't be any good.

 

PTR

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No, it's much better to belittle him for his weight.

[Pyrite Gal]

The thing I find interesting about Gibson is if they are slating him at backup RT that means they feel he is mobile for his size.

 

If that is the case why not move him to LG?

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I think there is desire or need to try him at LG because this does not fit the plan JMac and the Bills seem to have for OL improvement.

 

As best as I csn tell the plan is:

 

1. Improve the situation at each OL starting position.

 

Given the sad state of the 2005 Bills OL improving each position may not be saying much. However, you have to start somewhere and for the most part this seems like a real possibility.

 

RT- Peters is thought extemely highly of by JMac and this will be his first full season so there is a reaspnable chance at improvement (perhaps large as he is hoped to be able to even flip to the higher responsiblity LT position with more experience.

 

RG- This is the one position for which I see little chance of improvement and a likely backslide as I doubt Villarial will last the season. The number of games he has missed due to injury has picked up the last few years and I suspect nicks he would have played through before now cost him playing time. He is showing more nastiness recently which either is him trying to assert leadership or some frustration on his part as he is well into the backside of his career.

 

Still I would not be surprised to see him try to occupy the Kemt Hull leadership role.

 

C- Fowler looks like a definite upgrade over Teague as he is a more natural C who always has this role. he has filled in adequately from the scuttlebutt I hear for the more highly regarded but oft injured Jeff Faine.

 

My understanding is he left his old team not because he was booted as inadequate, but because he played well enough in the sub role that he clearly woul command starter money and his old team already had that locked up. He is a ? mark as he has never started 16 before, but hiben he was wll-regarded coming out of college and has stepped up nicely as a sub, he may well be ready to start.

 

LG- Anderson deeoly disappointed last year, but with the Bills having given him a good size bonus get him he gets one more shot to start, but JMac is both making noises and the Bills have made moves that he looks like a goner.

 

Reyes looks like a definite candidate to start and should be able to do so as he held down the RG position for a productive Carolina OL last year. Like Fowler, he left his old haunts not because he played badly but because Carolina had already budgeted cap room for a younster drafted last year to play RG. In fact it is a tribute to Reyes productivity that he held the job all of last year. He was an RG last year but has played LG before as a pro and should make the shift.

 

LT- Gandy surprised most of us last year by being pretty adequate at LT last year. In his second year in this system and not being that old there seems a reasonable chance of marginal improvement.

 

I think we have upgraded significantly among starterswith Teague, and MW gone and likelt Anderson gone if he does not improve alot.

 

However, i think the key to improving the OL will be our back-ups stepping up and providing competition and depth as some critical nick almost always occur. As far as this situation:

 

LG is actually the most relevant issue for this post and actually rather than making an attempt to move Ginson (it is already gonna be a big jump for him to make this team at RT and attempting to pull this off while also learning a new position seems pretty much to be a pipedream. Neverthelss, the Bills have two not unreasonable plan Bs at LG where they moved the well-regarded Preston to #2 on the depth chart and the loser of the reyes/Anderson competition can be a credible back0up.

 

C strikes me as a big question as I have little confidence in Geisinger who is the current #2 on the deph chart. Preston makes more sense as a back-up here IMHO.

 

RG- However is probably even a bigger back-up issue IMHO. Preston actually filled in nicely when CB went down last year, but I cannot see him backing up both spots.

 

LT/RT seemed to be big ? also and I think Gibson fills a bigger role here than moving him to LG where we currently have 3 live options. We also are lacking a definite back-up for Handy and there seems to be some thought that Jerman and one of the folks I view more as camp fodder are gpmma do it.

 

I think the good news for the Bills is that though there are no starter qualty FAs left, there are still a few guys out there who can fill a back-up role and most of them are actually tackles.

 

We will see.

[Nanker]

Looks like Levy found another project for McNally.

For those too fat and lazy to click:

OG-OT AARON GIBSON

(6-6 1/8, 386, 5.35e) Wisconsin

Notes: High-school All-American. Enrolled in 1995 — weighing 427 pounds — but had to sit out the year because he was a Prop 48, not because he was too heavy to play. Started six games in ’96, with five of his starts coming as a blocking tight end in the team’s "Jumbo" formation. Started nine games at tackle and three at tight end in the Jumbo in ’97. Got down to 370 pounds as a senior and was an All-Big Ten tackle who also made some All-America teams. According to the school, Gibson has a 47 1/2-inch waist, 33 1/2-inch thighs, a 20 1/2-inch neck, an 87-inch reach and size-19 shoes; bench-presses about 500 pounds; squats about 750 pounds; can vertical-jump 31 inches; and can do the splits. He also has run the 40-yard dash in under 5.35 seconds on a fast surface. Played right tackle as a senior, but his best pro position may be guard.

Positives: Rare size and strength. Simply huge and massive all over and does not look fat at 386 pounds. Seems to have gotten his weight under control. Great testing athlete for his size. Will do the splits before games. Has a giant wingspan. Engulfs defenders. Can be as dominating a run blocker as you will ever see. Great down blocker who can cave in half a defensive line. Above-average balance. Excellent hand punch. Awesome power. Can get better. Has a mean streak.

 

Negatives: Weight gain is still a concern. Is not very quick. Sloppy footwork. Gets himself in bad positions when pass-blocking. Puts himself in a position where he must chase the outside rusher and, as a result, really struggles to block the perimeter. Does not get out of his stance very quickly. Will give up on his blocks too soon (see Iowa game, 1998) at times. Needs to have a positive relationship with his position coach, since he does need guidance at times. Was injured in the Rose Bowl and could not play in the Senior Bowl, in part because he could not fit into the MRI machine to be checked out and cleared to play in the game.

 

Summary: Can be an awesome pro guard if he gets with the right coach, works hard and keeps his weight within reason. Could also be a huge disappointment if some of those things do not happen.

 

As somebody else said - a cheap version of MW. aka - further proof of why we have TWO Offensive Line Coaches.

[Rico]

FWIW

Gibson was drafted as a tackle but was moved inside to guard because his footwork and technique in space against speed pass rushers was so poor. The Bills have looked at him at right tackle, but prefer him inside where he can use his massive size to dominate opponents in the run game.

[BB2004]

Gibson spent a couple of days at one of the hotels in N.F., Ontario that I work with. I had a chance to rap with him and he's a very well-spoken guy.

 

I don't know how he'll grade out on the field, but I can tell you that, in person, he blocks out the sun. Hopefully, McNally can work some magic with this guy.

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I think he will make the team as our backup Right Tackle.

[Pyrite Gal]

Many Bills fans do not seem to realize that if you are Mel Kiper or work for ESPN then some assessment of how a player is compared to good play is critical. However, if you are part of the team's briantrust, the comparison for a player is first whether he is better than what you got and then whether there is someone else better than this player who can be obtained at a salary cap hit that fits your budget.

 

Aaron Gibson is certainly a fat tub of goo from the descriptions of his and the course of his career (a fat tub of goo that has a vertical leap far higher than most of who post on TSW actually), However, the question whether this fat tub of goo is an upgrade over Greg Jerman who is just below him on the depth chart.

 

Being better than Greg Jerman is not a horrendously difficult thing for a pro athlete to achieve and I suspect he makes the team as a back-up to Peters.

[Nanker]

Many Bills fans do not seem to realize that if you are Mel Kiper or work for ESPN then some assessment of how a player is compared to good play is critical.  However, if you are part of the team's briantrust, the comparison for a player is first whether he is better than what you got and then whether there is someone else better than this player who can be obtained at a salary cap hit that fits your budget.

 

Aaron Gibson is certainly a fat tub of goo from the descriptions of his and the course of his career (a fat tub of goo that has a vertical leap far higher than most of who post on TSW actually),  However, the question whether this fat tub of goo is an upgrade over Greg Jerman who is just below him on the depth chart.

 

Being better than Greg Jerman is not a horrendously difficult thing for a pro athlete to achieve and I suspect he makes the team as a back-up to Peters.

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I think that's just about right.

The question becomes - does Marv give McNally the title of Right Tackle Coach?

[Sisyphean Bills]

Gibson's problem is his size allowed him to make it all the way to the NFL in neutral. He is a gigantic man now. He was a gigantic kid. As a giant, he was never taught how to play the game. He got by just fine in pee wee league, high school, and even in the Big 10 by out super-sizing his opponents.

 

For the Gibson/Williams/Nails/etc., it is not enough to weigh around 400 pounds and bench press the weigh room in the NFL. The opponents know what they are doing and the margin for error is extremely small.

[Ozymandius]

Gibson is low risk with good upside. Probably one of the our better offseason moves.